Food in English: Guide, Vocabulary & Examples

There are many important topics in English which are crucial to a good communication
however there are some topics which we need to know well because we use them on a
regular basis.

Verbs to Talk about Food in English

The most common verb related to food in English is eat and have.

Let’s start with some questions

• What did you have for lunch?

• What do you want to have for dinner?
• What would you like to eat?
• Would you like to have a cup of coffee?

Let’s continue with some statements

• I had cereal for breakfast

• I ate chicken for lunch
• I’ll have a cup of coffee
• I always have meat for lunch

Types of Food: Vegetables

List of vegetables in English

artichoke cilantro / coriander

eggplant lavender
asparagus lemon Grass
alfalfa sprouts lettuce
bean sprouts mushrooms
black beans onions
black-eyed peas Garlic
chickpeas onion
green beans peppers
lentils Beet (US)
soy beans carrot
peas radish
broccoli wasabi
brussels sprouts horseradish
cabbage sweetcorn
cauliflower squashes
celery Zucchini
spinach cucumber
quinoa pumpkin
herbs and spices tomato
basil sweet potato

Types of Food: Fruits

List of fruits in English

apple lime
apricot mandarin
avocado mango
banana nectarine
blackberry orange
blackcurrant papaya
blueberry passion fruit
cherry peach
coconut pear
fig pineapple
grape plum
grapefruit raspberry
kiwifruit strawberry
lemon watermelon

Types of Food: Meats

List of meats in English

Beef Goat
Chicken Turkey
Fish Crab
Salmon Lamb
Octopus Pig
Sausage Lobster
Ham Steak
Dairy Products

List of dairy of products in English

Milk Sour cream

Yogurt Frozen desserts
Cream Cheese Condensed milk
Ice Cream Cream
Butter Eggnog
Sheep Milk Infant Formula

Vocabulary to Describe Food

These are some adjectives to describe different types of food.

Salty This popcorn is very salty

Spicy I love spicy food
Crunchy I love crunchy fried chicken
Juicy Ripe pears are very juicy
Ripe She bought a bunch of ripe bananas
Acidic You should avoid acidic food

Food Conversation Questions: Breakfast

1. Do you usually drink coffee in the morning?

2. Do you eat cereal in the morning?
3. Do you usually skip breakfast?
4. What breakfast can you prepare?
5. Do you make your own breakfast?
6. What’s your favorite breakfast meal?

Food Conversation Questions: Lunch

1. What time do you usually have lunch?

2. What do you usually have for lunch?
3. Do you eat lunch at school?
4. What lunch can you prepare?

Food Conversation Questions: Dinner

1. What time do you usually have dinner?

2. What do you usually have for dinner?
3. Where do you usually eat dinner?
4. What dinner can you prepare?
Food Conversation Questions: International Cuisine

1. Do you like Italian food?

2. Do you like Mexican Food?
3. Do you like Chinese food?

Food Conversation Questions: Diet

1. What’s a healthy diet?

2. What do you usually eat to gain weight?
3. What do you usually eat to lose weight?
4. Have your intermittent Fasting?
5. What do you think about diets?
6. Do you usually think about nutrition when making meal choices?
7. Do you think about the amount of calories you eat every day?
8. How many calories do you eat per day?
9. Do you track the amount of calories that you eat every day?

Food Conversation Questions: Fast Food

1. What’s your favorite fast-food restaurant?

2. How often do you eat junk food?
3. If you could, how often would you eat junk food?
4. What ‘s your favorite fast food?
5. Do you drink coke?
6. How often do you drink sodas?
7. What’s your favorite junk food?
8. Do you like Hamburgers?
9. Do you like Pizza?
10. What’s your favorite pizza place?
11. What’s your favorite pizza topping?
12. Do you like unhealthy food?
13. Do you like Tacos and Sandwiches?
14. Which fast food restaurant serve healthy food?
15. How often do you go to fast food restaurants?

Food Conversation Questions: Common Questions

1. What’s your favorite dessert? How often do you eat it?

2. What’s the best place to eat in your town?
3. Do you usually drink milk?
4. What kind of meals do you like to eat?
5. Do you like trying new foods?
6. How many cups of coffee do you drink every day?
7. Do you know how to cook?
8. Can you cook very well?
9. Do you eat bread every day?
 10. Do you eat fruits every day?
11. What kinds of food did you eat when you were a child?
12. How often do you eat out?
13. Do you like chocolate? What is your favourite type?
14. Do you like seafood?
15. Do you like eating vegetables?
16. What vegetables and fruits don’t you like?
17. Do you like chocolate? What is your favourite type?
18. Do you usually drink a beer when you eat?
19. What is your favorite food? How often do you eat it?
20. Are you a vegetarian? Why do some people stop eating meat?

Test: 20 Questions

1. What’s your favorite breakfast meal?

2. What do you usually have for lunch?
3. What do you usually eat to gain weight?
4. What do you usually eat to lose weight?
5. What do you think about diets?
6. How many calories do you eat per day?
7. What’s your favorite fast-food restaurant?
8. How often do you eat junk food?
9. How often do you drink sodas?
10. What’s your favorite pizza place?
11. What’s your favorite dessert?
12. What kind of meals do you like to eat?
13. How many cups of coffee do you drink every day?
14. What vegetables and fruits don’t you like?
15. What ingredients do you need to make a Pizza?
16. What seafood do you like to eat?
17. What’s your favorite drink?
18. What ingredients do you need to make rice pudding?
19. What recipes can you prepare?
20. What meats have you eaten?

Food Condition

• fresh - Sushi always requires fresh fish.

• off - I'm afraid this cheese tastes off.
• raw - Sushi is made from raw fish as well as vegetables, seaweed, and rice.
• ripe - Make sure the bananas are ripe so I can use them in the cake.
• rotten - This meat smells rotten. I think we should throw it away.
• tough - The steak was very tough. I could hardly chew it!
• tender - The lamb was so tender that it seemed to melt in my mouth.
• undercooked - The undercooked salmon was very poor.
 • unripe - Many types of fruit are picked unripe and become ripe as they are shipped.
• overcooked - The broccoli was overcooked. It should have been crisper.

Food Verbs

• bake - I'll bake a cake for her birthday party.

• boil - You should boil these potatoes for forty-five minutes.
• cook - What would you like me to cook for dinner?
• fry - I usually fry some eggs and bacon on Saturday mornings.
• grill - During the summer I like to grill meat outside.
• heat - Heat up the soup and make some sandwiches.
• microwave - Microwave the macaroni for three minutes and eat.
• poach - Jennifer prefers to poach her eggs.
• roast - Let's put this in the oven and roast for two hours.
• steam - The best way to cook many vegetables is to steam them for a few minutes.

Food Quantities

• bar - Melt one bar of butter for the sauce.

• liter - I'll put a liter of water on to boil for the pasta.
• loaf - I bought three loaves of bread at the supermarket.
• lump - Put of a lump of butter on top of the casserole to make it tasty.
• piece - Would you like a piece of chicken?
• pint - I drank a pint of ale at the pub.
• portion - Have you eaten your portion of vegetables today?
• slice - Please put three slices of cheese on my sandwich.
• spoonful - Add two spoonfuls of sugar to sweeten.

Food Taste

• bitter - The almonds were very bitter. I could hardly eat the cookies.
• bland - This sauce is very bland. It doesn't taste like anything.
• creamy - I enjoy eating creamy tomato soup on cold winter days.
• crisp - The apple was crisp and delicious.
• crunchy - Granola is a very crunch type of breakfast cereal.
• hot - The soup is hot. Let it cool down.
• mild - The spices are very mild.
• salty - The sauce was much too salty. I think you should add some water and boil it
down.
• savory - Savory crackers with cheese make a great snack.
• sour - Lemons are very sour!
• spicy - Greg enjoys eating spicy Mexican food.
• sweet - The cherry pie wasn't too sweet. It was just right.
• tasteless - The vegetables have been cooked for too long. They're tasteless.
Food Types

• barbecue - Do you enjoy barbecue during the summer?

• buffet - We went to an Indian buffet and had all we could eat.
• four-course meal - My wife and I enjoy making four-course meals on special
occasions.
• picnic - Let's take a picnic to the park and enjoy the good weather.
• snack - You should eat a snack at four, but don't eat too much.
• TV dinner - TV dinners are disgusting but fast.

Eating and Drinking

• bite - Don't bite off more meat than you can comfortably chew.
• chew - You should chew each bite well before you swallow.
• swallow - If you swallow too much you might choke on your food.
• sip - It's best to slowly sip a cocktail rather than gulp it down.
• guzzle - He guzzled a glass of water after he finished the job.
• gulp down - He hungrily gulped down the meal as he was very hungry.

Preparing Drinks

• add - Add two shots of whiskey and some rum.

• fill - Fill the glass with ice.
• mix - Mix in a teaspoon of sugar.
• pour - Pour your drink over ice cubes.
• shake - Shake the drink well and pour into a glass.
• stir - Stir the ingredients well and enjoy with your favorite seafood.